indifferent, he said. "these are the chilling facts of the case." indeed, three jurors asked to be removed from the panel. the question is will hayes get life in prison for the crimes or will he face the death penalty? >> this was such a dastardly thing, i think that the death penalty is in order. >> reporter: the prosecution's star witness, the man who saw it all. >> try to think about doing the right thing and testifying to what i know and being the face of my family since they can't be here to represent themselves. >> that was wabc's jim dolan reporting. dr. petit is expected to take the stand today and talk publicly for the first time about the horrifying details about what happened inside his home. tea party candidates are being closely watched in today's primary elections around the country. voters in seven states and in d.c. are heading to the polls later this morning. it is the last round of primaries before november's crucial midterm elections.

tea party candidates are challenging long-time lawmakers in three states. and in a delaware race veteran lawmaker mike castle faces a big threat from christine o'donnell. she's been endorsed by sarah palin and the tea party. gop strategists view castle as the party's only chance to win that seat that is now in democratic hands. with just 50 days to go before the midterm elections, president obama seems set for a showdown with senate republicans. the president wants to extend bush-era tax cuts. but republicans say those cuts are just not enough. jake tapper has more. >> reporter: the president met with middle-class voters in fairfax, virginia. >> i'm a massage therapist. >> i've got a crick in my neck right here. >> i bet you do. >> reporter: and there he continued to push the idea that republicans have a stranglehold on a middle-class tax cut and are holding it hostage until it's extended to wealthier americans as well. >> because wages and incomes had flatlined for middle-class families, they should definitely get an extension of the tax cuts

that were instituted in 2001, 2003. >> reporter: over the weekend house republican leader john boehner essentially gave in, saying he'd go along with continuing those bush tax cuts for middle-class voters even if the cuts for higher wage earners are allowed to expire. >> if the only option i have is to vote for some of those tax reductions, i'll vote for them. >> reporter: but leader boehner realized he was out on a limb all by himself. senate republican leader mitch mcconnell said senate republicans are united against any tax increase. >> only in washington could someone propose a tax hike as an antidote to a recession. and this is no small tax hike. >> reporter: and it's not just republicans squabbling. some democrats are breaking from the president and want to extend all the tax cuts. >> given the fragility of the economy all of the bush tax cuts should be extended temporarily. we need to remember that the top 5% income bracket in america account for 30% of all consumer spending.

>> reporter: according to the non-partisan congressional budget office, if all the bush tax cuts are extended along with some other provisions, economic growth in the next year could almost double. long term, however, economists say since none of the tax cuts are paid for, they're all deficit spending and unsustainable. you might be wondering after all this back and forth just where it leaves us. basically, it leaves us where we were a week ago, headed for a standoff with the taxes of all wage earners scheduled to go up on january 1st. jake tapper, abc news, the white house. federal public health experts are now concerned about a gene that turns varieties of bacteria into those stubborn superbugs. according to the centers for disease control, superbugs infected patients in three states, california, massachusetts, and illinois. doctors say the bacteria is resistant to antibiotics. all of the patients had recently been in india, where the superbug is believed to be rampant. hurricane igor is getting

bigger by the day, now spanning more than 1,000 miles. nasa satellite pictures showing aor's size. the winds dipped slightly overnight to 140 miles an hour, but it is on the verge of becoming a category 5 storm. the hurricane could threaten bermuda over the weekend and stir up rough surf all along the east coast. >> just stay away from land. here's a look now at your weather across the country. stormy from kansas to south dakota. with hail, gusty winds, flash flooding, and a chance of tornados. thunderstorms, meanwhile, in oklahoma and south texas. rain in the northern rockies and new mexico. showers across much of florida. >> nearly 90 from miami to atlanta, 70s in new york and boston, 83 in omaha, 70 in the twin cities, and 66 in fargo. phoenix will climb to 104. boise's 84. and seattle is 72. and a little bit of sports news this morning. delayed but undeterred. rafael nadal clinches the u.s. open championship. and of course a career grand slam. >> the 24-year-old spaniard beat novak djokovic.

rain postponed their sunday match, and it interrupted again in last night's match. now, the win gives nadal the only major trophy that was missing from his collection. it was his ninth major title, putting him past the halfway point of roger federer's record, 16 grand slam titles. >> nadal said he worked very hard to get there but he never, ever imagined actually getting a grand slam. >> the thing that's so important, even if you don't know anything about tennis, the thing that really is impressive, there are only seven people who have this same title who've complete theed all of these wins. >> only seven, really? >> yeah. so nadal is now like -- in history he will forever be remembered and known for this amazing win. >> now he has enough money to move out of his parents' house. more news after this. [ female announcer ] swiffer wetjet absorbs and traps so much dirt you'll never go back to your old mop. [ funny voice ] hey, mop! wanna suck up dirt and grime like swiffer wetjet? then try the absorb-a-straw!

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secretary of state hillary clinton is in egypt this morning to moderate the second round of mideast peace talks. the secretary will be joined by israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and palestinian president mahmoud abbas. egypt's president is hosting the meetings at a resort. secretary clinton says the time is right for a permanent peace deal. and today's talks come almost 17 years to the day when israeli and palestinian leaders shook hands at the white house. >> just a moment with president clinton standing by yitzchak rabin and yasser arafat no longer appeared to be enemies. from the abc news vault coverage from september 13th, 1993. >> reporter: they brought the morning shows to the white house today. tucked away at the bottom of the south lawn were charlie and paula and bryant and katie. sure signs that history was about to be made. but in gaza itself the very spot

that will soon come under the authority of the palestine liberation organization it looked like so many other days. the frustrated, the angry, those without hope giving vent to their fury. ♪ in jericho, which will also come under plo control, there was more of a sense of the day. it may be here in this ancient biblical city that yasser arafat sets up the plo's new headquarters. they were marching and chanting in jericho today. while three white house staffers playing clinton and rabin and arafat were doing a dry run. >> can you ask them all to move? can you ask them all to move? >> from the middle of the stage. >> reporter: and the table on which sadat and begin and carter signed the camp david agreement was being nudged into its proper place.

>> about three inches this way. >> reporter: on this day at the white house former secretaries of state were a glut on the market. vance and kissinger. william p. rogers from all the way back in the nixon years. schulz, haig, eagleburger. when you tally up the years of service you get a sense of how much effort the united states has invested in helping bring this day to pass. >> today the leadership of israel and the palestine liberation organization will sign a declaration of principles on interim palestinian self-government. it charts a course toward reconciliation between two peoples who have both known the bitterness of exile. now both pledge to put old sorrows and antagonisms behind them and to work for a shared future, shaped by the values of the torah, the koran, and the bible. >> this signing of the

israeli-palestinian declaration of principle here today, it's not so easy. neither for myself as a soldier in israel's war, nor for the people of israel -- >> reporter: the news program on israeli television which follows the live signing ceremony from washington has a report on the funerals of three israeli soldiers killed only yesterday in gaza. the juxtaposition of images will create problems for rabin back home. and he knows it. >> let me say to you, the palestinians, we understand to live together on the same soil in the same land we, the soldiers who have returned from battle stained with blood, we who have seen our relatives and friends killed before our eyes, we who have attended their

funerals and cannot look into the eyes of their parents, we say to you today in a loud and a clear voice, enough of blood and tears. enough. >> translator: the battle for peace is the most difficult battle of our lives. it deserves our utmost efforts because the land of peace, the land of peace yearns for a just and comprehensive peace. >> and just two years after those speeches rabin, the fifth prime minister, was assassinated by jewish extremists. interesting in the sense that he won the nobel peace prize and there was so much promise there. seeing a young hillary clinton in the audience. >> and now it's her turn at bat. we'll see. more news after this

th the 25th and final season of "the oprah winfrey show" is now under way, and the queen of daytime tv certainly did not disappoint her studio audience. >> of course you remember she once gave everyone in her audience a brand new car! >> you get a car! you get a car! >> this time she left them flying high. here's t.j. winick. >> reporter: it was the beginning of the end. on the prepemier episode of her show's final season oprah winfrey gave each and every one of her 300 audience members an over-the-top trip down under. >> you're going to australia! there were several celebrity guests, including john travolta. >> you have been voted our favorite guest. >> reporter: and plenty of paying tribute to the queen of daytime talk. >> there's only one of you and there will never be another one.

>> reporter: her show also paid homage to that very first broadcast 25 years ago. actor don johnson turned down an opportunity to be on the very first oprah winfrey show. >> the most important thing. you're the greatest. >> thank you, don. >> reporter: and yes, she did tear up when paul simon played a song especially written for the occasion. ♪ 25 years have come and gone but her show has been nothing short of an institution. she was named "forbes'" most powerful celebrity this year for the fourth time. she is a media mogul worth an estimated $2.4 billion. her departure will create a seismic shift in daytime television. >> given that oprah airs at 4:00 in most markets, she provides an incredible lead-in for local newscasts. >> reporter: on january 1st the tv legend launches the oprah winfrey network. it's expected to reach 70 million homes. t.j. winick, abc news, new york. >> it is going to be such a wonderful season because they're

saying they're giving away all kinds of things. >> we need to go. let's get some stuff. >> well, you know, oprah used to do news, and i think she didn't do that well at news. so maybe i am on track to be the next oprah. i'm mimicking that career right now. >> and the cool part, she actually had these ladies from boston taking a road trip and had gale direct them in, they drove right into the set yet into the taping of the show. it's going to be a good season. >> your papers are next. stick around.

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"world news now" delivers your morning papers. >> and welcome back, everybody. i've got to share the story of this guy because this story kind of -- i find completely nuts on many levels. 45-year-old guy in britain wanted to break the world record for spending the most time enclosed in a space with all these crazy snakes. he actually -- this was something he wanted to do for 24 years. he was in his room with all these poisonous snakes for 107 days. he traveled to south africa

twice to get ready for this, spent five months of work to do this, sequestered himself from his wife and his child, spends all this time trying to beat the old record, which he did, spending 121 days -- sorry. beating the old record of 107. submits it to guinness. guinness says, oh, sorry, we don't have any openings in that particular record this time around, we cannot accept what you've done. so basically, he did all this and then they rejected this guy and said no, you didn't break the record, you're not getting in the book here after all of that, all those snakes. he was with not only all -- two black mambas, two green mambas, all these dangerous snakes. and if you don't remember what the black mamba was, of course you remember the great movie "kill bill." the black mamba had that incredible scene where he killed that guy there and all that. can you imagine, he went to all these lengths, stayed in that room, and did not get in the book? >> you know what, though? i actually have to say i think the guinness book, they have really stringent rules --

>> they're strict. >> i think what they're basically saying is there was no one who could verify probably what he did. i mean i hate to be a pessimist but -- >> rules are rules, i guess, but guinness kind of want to prevent people from doing this stuff on their own, we've got to have rules, so no dice for my boy with the snakes. >> the guy's a weirdo. >> no doubt. >> take a look at these next two kids because they're so cute and you're never even going to ieve i tell you what the those a twins. ar the cute? but they're fwintwins and one i black and one is white. it's a million to one chance. this is them on their first day they got the mom's fair complend golden brown hair jamaican, obviously got his skin coloring. skin colhey that even at nurser one would believe the onisters. believe the the staff could see t were but they just were completely confused. so they're 4 years old. in case you're wondering, these kids were conceived through ivf

treatment. necessarily the cause of it because there are anot apart that are also mixed race and they say -- the mom was mixed race, rather. and so they think she had dominant eggs for both and managed to ovulate at the same time

critical clues. what federal investigators are uncovering after the huge gas pipeline explosion in california. then, costly campus. the most expensive public school ever built opens for classes. who's defending the huge price tag? and historic honors to a military serviceman. >> i can't even begin to describe how intense it was. >> his extraordinary heroism. it's tuesday september 14th.

amazing story there from the battlefield. >> it really is. and i think it makes you really appreciate the reporter martha raddatz, her ability to tell this story because you cannot help but get emotional when you see it and really respect this soldier. >> it's incredible. make sure to stay tuned for that story, everybody. good morning. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm vinita nair. we are seeing new pictures this morning of the deadly pipeline explosion in northern california. surveillance video shows the frightening moments for those at a gas station blocks away from the massive blast. >> and dramatic footage. another surveillance video caught terrified shoppers running for the door. diana alviar is following the investigation and has the latest. good morning, diana. >> reporter: vinita and rob, good morning. despite residents saying they'd

smelled gas in the area before the explosion, the owner of the pipeline says it was checked out a few months ago and that everything checked out fine. this is exhibit a in the ntsb's investigation. the 28-foot-long pipeline at the center of the san bruno explosion. >> we'd want to know was it a fatigue factor associated with pressurizing and depressurizing the pipe, which would be -- which could eventually break it like bending a hanger back and forth. >> reporter: now comes information the pipeline was known to be potentially dangerous. in a 2007 document the owner, pg&e, said the pipeline "ranks in the top 100 highest risk line sections" and that the risk of failure at this location is "unacceptably high." the document was part of a budget request to replace the line. pg&e refuted their own report. they said the line had been tested as recently as this march. >> this one was not listed as one of the high-risk sections of the pipeline. >> reporter: the california public utilities commission has ordered pg&e to inspect all

6,400 miles of existing pipeline. with priorities on the lines that run directly beneath homes. crumbling infrastructure is not just california's problem. according to the federal agency overseeing the nation's pipelines, there were 265 significant incidents last year alone and 14 deaths. many lines are 40, 50, even 60 years old and need to be replaced. >> we had no clue there was a 60-year-old pipe running through our neighborhood. >> reporter: experts say san bruno was the canary in the coalmine, a warning the nation's infrastructure is ailing in a way that could court even more catastrophe. investigators are also asking residents if they recall seeing any dead vegetation in the area before the explosion. they say that could be a sign that gas had been leaking. vinita, rob? >> the pipeline explosion has a lot of people now worried about underground dangers in their own neighborhoods. how do you find out if you're at risk1 o-hrbar >> reporter: incidents happen every other day in this country. >> it's something we need to get

a clear handle on before it gets worse. >> reporter: in this san diego neighborhood more trouble seeped from underground. the frightening smell of natural gas forced dozens from their homes. and in illinois hundreds of workers scrambled to contain crude oil that gushed for three days from a ruptured main. often, as in friday's tragedy in california, residents say they had no idea what was beneath their homes until it was too late. this despite the fact that utilities are required by law to clearly mark pipelines and notify residents about those aging neighbors they don't see. here in the chicago neighborhood residents share this street with an underground natural gas pipeline. but there's no evidence of it, no obvious signs. >> water lines are fairly decently marked, but gas lines, no. >> reporter: those pipelines are a subterranean oil and gas superhighway criss-crossing the nation. 2.5 million miles of pipeline. enough to wrap around the earth 100 times. much of that infrastructure is at least 40 years old.

and in some cases in decay. >> it's kind of a wake-up call for all of us when a vast majority of these high pressure large vast transmission pipelines are never required to be inspected. >> reporter: that's because only pipelines near natural resources or population centers are subject to mandatory inspection and only 7% of those major lines run anywhere near a neighborhood. utility companies know where pipelines are buried, but residents might not. barbara pinto, abc news, chicago. in other news now, the obama administration is pushing for more safety in the offshore drilling industry. the white house wants congress to spend an extra $80 million to meet that goal. that money would go to the federal agency that inspects offshore rigs. congress just recently approved $29 million in emergency spending to hire some new offshore drilling inspectors. tea party candidates are being closely watched in today's primary elections. voters in seven states and the district of columbia are heading to the polls this morning. it is the last round of

primaries before november's crucial midterm elections. democrats are defending their records while republicans are pushing for major wins. the republican senate primary in delaware is getting a lot of national attention. christine o'donnell is the tea party-backed candidate getting help from sarah palin. polls show she has a chance to beat eight-term congressman mike castle. tea party candidates have already defeated republican establishment choices in at least six states. republican colleagues of john boehner are now upset over the house minority leader's comments about supporting the president's tax proposals. >> boehner says he would support president obama's plans to renew the expiring bush tax cuts if tha that's the only option. hi, john. >> reporter: good morning, vinita and rob. yesterday the senate came back to capitol hill and today the house returns and issue number one on their plate is tax cuts. the president says republicans are holding a middle-class tax cut hostage. >> we're still in this wrestling

match with john boehner and mitch mcconnell about the last 2% to 3%. >> reporter: most democrats want to extend the bush tax cuts for those earning under $250,000. most republicans want to extend them for all americans, including the wealthy. this weekend house republican leader john boehner seemed to cave. >> if the only option i have is to vote for those at 250 and below, of course i'm going to do that. but i think that's bad policy. >> reporter: now boehner finds himself a but alone, with few >> reporter: now boehner finds himself a but alone, with few republans n him. hike. the tax hike the administration is proposing, according to irs, would apply to half of all small business income in this country. >> reporter: both sides are making tax cuts the wedge issue of the midterm election as the president did on the back patio of john and nicole armstrong along with democrats jim moran and jerry connelly. >> how state and local governments are able to deal with these budget challenges next year is in part going to depeno whether the peop who next year is in part going to depeno whether the peop who

and jerry or whether they're john boehner. >> reporter: but with even some conservative democrats, clud connelly, on their they'll prevail. >> given the fragility of the economy, all of the bush tax cuts shou extended temporarily. >> reporter: wit now a major campaign issue, congresionrs s unlikely anything will get done about them until november. vinita and rob? hurricane igor is growing in size as it rages far out in the atlantic. the category 4 storm is so big that nasa actually took pictures of it from space. igor now is more than 1,000 miles wide, and winds topping 140 miles an hour. it could threaten bermuda this weekend and bring some pretty rough surf to the eastern seaboard. good news here, it is not on track to make landfall here in th amazing how clear you images. tuesday foreca flooding, and isolated tornados from south dakota, nebraska to kansas. light rain from western montana

thunderstorms from oklahoma city and som showers in northern new england. 89 in atlanta. 66 in fargo. 83 in omaha. 73 in detroit. phoenix still hot at 104. colorado springs 93. it's 84 in sacramento. and 72 in seattle. well, from dachshunds to dalmatians it was quite a cool way to wrap up summer. >> nearly 1,000 dogs converged on a water park in charleston to frolic in a wave pool and a kiddie pool that's usually reserved for people. it was the second annual dog day afternoon, which opens the park to four-legged friends before shutting down, of course, for the summer season. >> and interestingly enough, humans got in for free and dogs had to pay. the dogs paid $10 each. and as you can see, fun was had by all. >> good for the dogs. more news after this. stay right there. ♪ ♪ who let the dogs out ♪ who, who, who ♪ who let the dogs out or a night out. hotwire has special deals with hotels. when hotels have unsold rooms they use hotwire to fill them,

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cl classes began at the world's most expensive public school, which cost california taxpayers really a pretty penny. the price tag, a record $578 million. >> and despite that unbelievable cost, educators are defending

the money spent on the robert f. kennedy community school. melissa mcbride reports now from los angeles. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> reporter: students arriving at rfk community schools are making history where history was made 42 years ago. the 24-acre site was once the ambassador hotel, where robert f. kennedy was assassinated during his run for the white house. the campus, comprised of six pilot schools, is the most expensive public school in the country. >> i think kids are going to be like more respectful and more learning, wanting to learn and be successful in their grades and everything. >> reporter: rfk has a $578 million price tag, paid for by voter-approved construction bonds. the legendary coconut grove nightclub in the old hotel is now a theater. the ballroom is now a library. the schools at the complex have soccer fields, swimming pools, artwork on display, and a park that's open to the public. >> a building in the heart of l.a. is a little different.

building on a historically significant location is a little different. and so $578 million is a significant investment, and it's very well spent. >> reporter: the students attending rfk are from a nine-block radius. so freshman jonathan polanco can walk to school with his family. a nice change of pace after riding the bus to brentwood for middle school. >> it's like an hour away. so now i'm closer to home. i don't have to wake up so early. >> reporter: rfk is already a source of pride in the community. but looks aside, parents say what matters most is what happens in the classroom. >> whatever they're doing here, it'll work in the brains of the children, and they won't tear up the surroundings because it's very nice here. >> reporter: the rfk community schools are now home to about 4,200 students. and by opening those doors, the lausd says that will help alleviate some of the overcrowding at other schools. this is melissa mcbride for abc

news. >> and the irony here, too, is they got a late start to the school year this year out there because they had to furlough 29,000 teachers because of a tight budget. >> yeah, budget cuts and yet $578 million price tag. >> crazy. >> beautiful school, though. >> oh, yeah. they'll enjoy it, that's for sure. coming up tommy hilfiger's fashion empire. >> the american

we return now to designer tommy hilfiger, who is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his clothing line. >> and while the world celebrates fashion week, the fashion world celebrates hilfiger and his multibillion-dollar empire. here now is sharyn alfonsi. >> reporter: his clothes, his look are uniquely american. they've made tommy hilfiger a

king of american apparel, as evidenced at his star-studded 25th anniversary fashion show and lavish afterparty at the metropolitan opera house. but hilfiger's story, his rise and fall from fashion's good graces, has been as distinctly american as his clothes. today tommy hilfiger leads a $4 billion fashion empire, but he's seen his way through bankruptcy, a backlash of bad press, and somehow survived a baggy jean and logo era he'd rather forget. we visited hilfiger at his new flagship store on new york's 5th avenue. >> should i be rocking this look? >> well, this shows that it's the fall season, it's football season. this is what you should wear to the stadium. >> reporter: and this is what you should wear when you deal with fashion reviews, right? fashion critics. >> i don't pay attention anymore. >> reporter: and in his design studio before the big show --

>> i think this is -- >> reporter: -- where he is in every detail. >> oh, we've got the stripe. >> got the cool details there. turn around. it's got the strap, which is -- >> yeah. he looks great. fantastic. >> reporter: it's a long way from his humble beginnings in fashion, that started in his hometown, elmira, new york, in the mid '60s. >> then when this whole hippie revolution took place my friends and i wanted to look cool, grow our hair long, wear bell bottoms. so we decided to open a store with $150 and 20 pairs of jeans. >> reporter: in under seven years tommy and his friends had eight stores. >> and i thought that this business was so great it would never stop. and i had a rude awakening, which was my mba, i guess you could say. >> reporter: at age 25 hilfiger declared bankruptcy. broke, he moved to new york and was working as a freelance designer for calvin klein when he was offered a full-time job designing denim for him. >> and i then met mohan rajani and mohan said don't go to work

for calvin, i will back you, i'll be your partner, and we'll start a company. >> reporter: mohan merjani, an indian textile magnate, held the licenses for gloria vanderbilt and coca-cola clothing. >> i said fantastic. let's call it tommy hill because no one will really be able to pronounce tommy hilfiger. sew said no, no, no, go by your real name because nobody else has the name tommy hilfiger. and do you think people can really pronounce yves st. laurent? >> reporter: with that first line hilfiger established himself as a classic american brand. >> i love iconic america. i love hollywood. i love rock and roll. and i wanted to incorporate that inspiration into my design work. >> reporter: and soon he was an all-american success story. his company was generating $100 million in revenues. ♪ but then somehow, somewhere it took a turn.

>> in 1992 you kind of embraced street wear. is that fair to say? >> street wear was actually embracing me. because my preppie clothes became so popular amongst kids in boarding schools, colleges. all of a sudden the youth on the street started wearing my athletic-inspired clothes with the big logos. ♪ the boys are back in town >> reporter: hilfiger returned to his preppie roots and expanded them, creating a billion-dollar global brand by selling the idea of american prep to europe. >> the american dream is alive and well, where you can have a dream, you can build a big business starting with nothing. maybe it's a familiar story, but it is true. it can happen because it happened to me. >> reporter: i'm sharyn alfonsi in new york. >> and it's funny he hasn't owned that company since 2006. he sold it then for $3 billion. not a bad deal.

>> yeah. not at all. it's funny, though, he has often said fashion is cyclical. so i think that big red and white logo could come back. i just don't know if i see it coming back. >> you don't know? he calls it preppie with a surprise. not your style? >> preppie with a surprise. coming up, an american war hero going down in history. >> military man recognized for going far, far beyond the call of duty. that story coming up next. over restrictions. them independence over limitations. they chose mobility. they chosehe scooter store. and this is the team of mobility experts who made it all happen. ii great news, you've been approved for payment. dr. cruz, i'm calling on behalf ofmarie stanford. and they can make it happen for you. hi, i'm doug harrison, if you're living with limited mobility, call the scooter store today. i promise, no other company will work harder to make you mobile or do more to ensure your total satisfaction.

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when pain keeps you up, nothing is proven to help you fall asleep faster than advil pm liqui-gels. rushing real liquid relief to ease you to sleep fast. for nighttime pain, make advil pm your #1 choice. ♪ ♪ ♪ when i see your face ♪ there's not a thing that i would change ♪ ♪ 'cause you're amazing ♪ just the way you are finally this half hour, for the first time since the vietnam war a living serviceman will receive the medal of honor. >> the nation's highest military award is being given to a soldier for his extraordinary act of heroism, an act he talked about with martha raddatz.

>> reporter: staff sergeant salvatore giunta was waiting at his army post in italy with his wife, jennifer, when the call came from washington. >> my heart started racing pretty fast at that time, and then when he said president barack obama, it just started really pounding. >> reporter: he was just 22 years old at the time, during this battle, which abc news cameras captured. it was a fight so intense, an ambush so sudden, that soldiers were lying wounded within seconds. among them, giunta's closest friend, sergeant josh brennan, shot multiple times and cut off from the other soldiers. >> to tell the story about that day hurts me. >> reporter: staff sergeant brett perry back in afghanistan for a second tour was with giunta on that frigid mountain during the battle. >> i can't even begin to

describe how intense it was. the most intense whizzes i've ever heard from bullets just going right over us. >> reporter: with two taliban fighters now dragging his friend josh brennan away giunta charged right into the ambush, killing one of the taliban fighters and chasing the other away. giunta pulled his friend brennan to safety. >> sergeant giunta was just right there with him, just holding his hand. >> rorter: despite giunta's efforts, it was too late to save josh brennan. >> he'll say he was just doing his job. but the reality is there's very few people in the world that would have done what he did. >> you know what the award says. above and beyond the call of duty. >> if everyone who has gone above and beyond the call of duty received the medal of honor, i think everyone i stand with would have the medal of honor. >> reporter: martha raddatz, abc news, vicenza, italy.

>> you can see how obviously humble he is about receiving the medal of honor. and his family went on to say, more specifically his father said, this is really bittersweet for us because we're so happy for our son but in order for him to get this obviously two

political push. today's primaries in seven states and why candidates endorsed by sarah palin and the tea party are being closely watched. then, horrified homeowners. they survived the california blast. >> i know. damn it. what the [ bleep ] happened? >> disbelief and demands for action. and pope's project. the multimillion-dollar restoration at the vatican's

library. it's tuesday september 14th. you know, this library was closed for three years. so apparently, academics around the world were writing letters saying what's going on? we don't have access to all these wonderful books. so i'm sure they're breathing a sigh of relief now it's been reopened. >> and for $12 million worth. >> not cheap. >> no, not at all. >> good morning and thanks for being with us on this tuesday. i'm vinita nair. >> and i'm rob nelson. voters head to the polls in seven states today. it's the last primary before those critical midterm november elections. >> tea party candidates are being closely watched, especially in delaware. senior washington editor rick klein has a preview. good morning, rick. >> rob and vinita, republicans want to win vice president joe biden's old senate seat, and they think they have just the man to do it. congressman mike castle, a moderate republican, a former

governor, and one of delaware's most popular political figures. christine o'donnell is a marketing consultant who has twice run for the senate and twice lost badly. political pros say she has no chance of winning the general election. but this year o'donnell is aligned with the tea party movement. >> there is a tidal wave coming to delaware. >> reporter: toss in sarah palin's endorsement and she's got a solid chance of taking the republican nomination. >> if she were by some miracle to be our nominee, that we would lose this seat and lose it by unprecedented numbers. >> reporter: mike castle is a republican who often works with democrats. he's for abortion rights, for gun control, and with a democrat has co-sponsored a bill to allow stem cell research, all fueling the tea party tem pert. >> the republican party has lost its way. they get behind candidates like my opponent, who don't even support the republican platform. who continue to support the democrats' agenda lock, step, and barrel. >> reporter: castle is hammering back hard, attacking o'donnell

on problems with her personal finances. the gop establishment is watching tuesday's primary vote very closely. tea party favorites have already beat the establishment choice in at least six states. rob and vinita? the alleged underwear bomber who tried to blow up a delta jet over detroit on christmas says he may plead guilty. that claim came yesterday from 23-year-old umar farouk abdulmutallab fired his lawyers. during a court appearance the young nigerian it said he now plans to represent himself. abdulmutallab says he's taken the action because he thinks his lawyers would be biased. american sarah shourd 1 is spending yet another day in an iranian prison. plans for her release have hit another snag. >> family members say they've hit a snag in trying to raise the $500,000 in cash for her bail. lara setrakian is following the case from dubai. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. yes, it has been an intense waiting game for sarah shourd and her family. in the past 24 hours we've heard that the holdup was just a

matter of money, getting that half a million dollars bail in cash. she could be released anytime and on her way back home. we do have information on what happens next, where this case goes next. certainly for her two friends, shane bauer and josh fattal, they were reportedly charged with espionage and illegally crossing the iran-iraq border. their lawyer told us in the past that there's no evidence for espionage and that the border crossing was accidental at best, which would lighten any punishment or help them move toward tossing the trial altogether. rob and vinita? >> so lara, we hear that president mahmoud ahmadinejad, after so long really not saying anything about this release, is now pushing for it. why now after more than a year? >> reporter: it's a and analysts we speak to point to ahmadinejad's big trip toew york next week for the u.n. there are already plans for those annual protests we see to america. so this kind of humanitarian gesture, releasing the hikers, would give him a slightly stger nda y p

last snag forrd lara, thank you. in other news now, 36 survivors of a plane crash in eastern venezuela are slowly recovering after being pulled from the burning wreckage. the plane crashed into a steel mill yard, killing at least 15 people. the twin-engine french-made plane had taken off from a popular tourist destination, margarita island, when it crashed. there is a growing sense of frustration this morning for the 33 miners trapped deep underground in chile. efforts to drill rescue tunnels have now slowed, and now the families above ground are threatening to stage a protest. jeffrey kofman reports chile. >> reporter: each day breaks another record for the trapped miners, and each day rescue teams break new frontiers to keep the men alive half a mile underground. ♪ they've now got live tv for their beloved soccer games. "we're fighting like the soccer players," he says. "we're fighting to get out of this hole." there is a tiny hole that connects them to the surface.

everything must be four inches or smaller to fit into the supply tubes. through a second hole they now have electricity, the video link, running water, and fresh air. and they can now talk to and see their families live. "everything is fine," she says. "just be calm down there, dad." the chilean government is massing huge resources here to liberate the men. over the weekend 42 trucks brought in a giant oil drill rig to be assembled over the next week. they expect at least one of the three drill rigs will reach the miners by november. then they'll squeeze into a 26-inch-wide cage for a three-hour ride to freedom. getting all the men out will take four days. on the surface, families wait patiently and exchange supportive notes with loved ones. sylvia segovia clutches a letter from her brother. "i haven't been very affectionate in the past," he writes, "but i want you to know you're a good sister. thank you for standing by me." "we're going to video the birth. it was his request," she says. "then we'll send it down so he

can watch it on the little tv they have down there." jeffrey kofman, abc news, copiapo, chile. >> the incredible patience of those miners. unbelievable. here's your tuesday forecast now. severe storms in the plains. 80-mile-an-hour winds. large hail and flash flooding from northern kansas to south dakota. showers in western montana, utah, and new mexico. thunderstorms in oklahoma city to corpus christi. and scattered showers in both maine and florida. >> 89 in miami, 91 in new orleans, and 94 in dallas. 70s in the northeast. 86 in kansas city. and 74 in chicago. mostly 80s from boise to albuquerque. well, some doctors at the prestigious mayo clinic are creating a big buzz this week. >> three pathologists at the minnesota clinic shaved their heads bald yesterday to draw attention to breast cancer. it is part of a movement by pathologists across the country, who will be going bald for breast cancer awareness month in october. >> the doctors say they want to

send a message that they empathize with patients, friends, and of course families forced to cope with the disease, and they get to sport an all new look and do a lot of good in the process. apparently, they raised $10,000. >> they said that if they had reached the goal of $10,000, which was the initial, the department chair would have to shave his or her head. so it should be some interesting staff meetings with mohawks and whatnot. >> always a cool look, huh? jim likes it. ♪ ♪ don't give up

and welcome back, everybody. we turn now to the latest on last week's deadly gas explosion in california. four people are confirmed dead, and of course many homes in that neighborhood were destroyed.

>> investigators are now turning their attention to the aging pipes buried in the neighborhood. neal karlinsky has more from san bruno, california. >> it's so bad. i know. damn it. what the [ bleep ] happened? >> to be honest, i was not thinking. i was just making sure my neighbors were -- i could see my neighbors running up the hill. and i wasn't -- i was just running around the house, making sure everybody was out. >> reporter: do you feel safe or still a little -- >> not 100%. not 100%. >> reporter: the neighborhood, which was ravaged by a natural gas fire, is now under siege by utility workers going house to house to make sure the gas comes on again safely. and there was what some residents considered a less than reassuring sight. technicians with handheld electronic sniffers checking cracks in the road and manhole covers for more possible gas leaks. beverly mandel has lived here since the neighborhood was built a half century ago, but she won't stay the night. >> holy cow.

>> yeah. >> reporter: thursday's explosion sent this meteor-like rock of burning asphalt through her roof. >> i went upstairs. i was upstairs in my bed -- bedroom -- >> reporter: that's still -- stuff falling through your roof. >> stuff is still falling through. hallelujah. gee. >> reporter: despite it all, we haven't met anyone in this neighborhood who isn't first and foremost just thankful to be alive. even as exhibit a, the huge chunk of blown-out pipeline was shipped off their street by investigators, bound for a lab in washington. it will literally be put under a microscope. initially, ntsb investigators say the pipe has some obvious areas of concern. it is old, installed in 1956, with welding points that officials say are no longer commonly used. that includes a long welded seam that runs the length of the line and is potentially susceptible to corrosion. but there is also a section

designed to bend under a dip in the road, the exact section that blew, put together by a hodgepodge of smaller pieces. officials say that while modern methods are to bend a pipe to fit a curve this pipe was pieced together by small sections called pups, each one forging a turn in the pipe, each one offering investigators another decades-old welding job that could have been a weak point. >> the fact that it occurred when it was unexpected, when there's no obvious explanation for it, there was no precursor event, there was no earthquake that we know of, there was no heavy construction in the vicinity that we know of, we don't know of any impact against the pipe, it's very mysterious, and it makes it important that we understand the cause of this. >> we've heard reports of residents saying that they smelled gas and called us beforehand. we have combed through our records for the month of september, for the nine days of september before the event, and we have not found anything in our records that would indicate

that people called for that specific area. >> reporter: pg&e officials were anxious to defend themselves against reports that residents smelled gas earlier and nothing was done. >> in one instance there was a small leak at the meter, which we replaced, fixed it right away, and in the second stance there wasn't a leak found anywhere. >> reporter: state regulators have now ordered the utility to inspect all of its natural gas lines. we already know that will include at least 99 the utility considers high risk. that's because the line that blew in san bruno was one of 100 highest risk line sections in the company's own 2007 report, adding the risk of failure at this location is "unacceptably high." snapshots of the aftermath paint a vivid picture of destruction and loss, the sort of thing you'd be forgiven for thinking you've seen before. but this event is different. and pipelines like the one that caused it are underground, criss-crossing their way through neighborhoods from coast to coast. i'm neal karlinsky in san bruno, california.

>> and the good news here a little bit is that the gas company here has set up a $100 million kind of fund for the victims here to get through their day-to-day expenses. somewhat of what we saw for the bp oil spill. so some relief. >> what we're looking at right now also when an explosion like that happens, you can only imagine how it affects the surrounding neighborhoods. this is actually surveillance video as that explosion was going off. and you can see people probably have no idea what was going on. and then to walk out from a scene like this and see flames billowing into the air, you can only imagine the terror and the panic, people not having any idea what's going on. >> and sad there to be a loss of life, but it could have been a lot worse than four people. wow. coming up, lightening it up in "the skinny," including some serious criticism of chelsea

♪ skinny ♪ so skinny well, willis is being blinded by the flashlights

and -- or the light bulbs of all the people taking photos of him. so we're talking about chelsea handler, and it's interesting because we talked about monday morning quarterbacking. >> yeah. oh, yeah, here it is. >> and people were vicious. "the new york times" said in response to her hosting the vma awards, worst in show's history, she never looked comfortable, she was undone by nerves, out of touch with brief alarming flashes of off-color racial humor. well, she in typical chelsea handler flair is responding, and she wrote on twitter on monday, "i know i had a good night. i woke up with tape on my back and glitter on my face." so you know, keep in mind, though, this was one of the biggest shows. it had 11.4 million viewers, and it drew its biggest audience for any telecast on the network since 2002. so while critics are panning her saying she was out of touch and that a lot of her jokes just weren't as funny as they could have been, i think the biggest criticism was they felt like she went for the lowest common denominator, that she is so edgy and clever and a great comic on

her own show but that didn't really sparkle because she was not being herself on the awards show. >> hosting the vmas has to be pretty daunting as well. i don't think she was -- i think she was far from great, but i don't think she was, you know, horrendous there. but it's good she fired back. it's good she doesn't just take it lying down. >> i think also the reality of the vmas is that a lot of times the hosts are harshly criticized because if you look at the rolodex of who else has hosted none of these people had great reviews like you saw for steve martin and the others for other shows. >> russell brand did it for two years. i didn't think he was funny but -- >> i didn't even remember that. >> exactly. but the ratings are up. that's what counts. right? anyway, good chelsea fired back. well, finally an "american idol" update to give you. apparently it is a done deal now, several sources are reporting that guess who will be the new judge. j. lo. jenny from the block apparently has now inked a deal worth $12

million a year. but get this. she actually wasn't satisfied with that. she actually was pushing for $15 million a year and a guaranteed movie from fox as part of the deal, but she said you know, what, we're not going to do that, she'll have to be satisfied with just a measly $12 million a year. but the thing t ste here is that, i mean, she's still an a-list star but her res wasbysoic, epic records. her last movie, "the backup plan," kind of tanked at the box office. >> it was bad. >> so get this. >> she was on twitter. if you guys are up to date on twitter, she twit piced this and the subtext said, "hmm, what should i wear today?" and a lot of people are obviously pointing out the fact that she does live this very extreme lifestyle, so she has to make money. so it's natural she had such high demands because she lives, you know -- >> and who wouldeet stuff and you're worrying which diamond to wear? anyway,l go ahead, vinita. >> kevin federline, we nt

of pictures youm, was real -- now he's real -- take a look he has o 25ds. that was him before. oksow.as him before. they say the previought gain walameepre they say following his divorce from spears, they had the two sons, he said it was really hard. and he lo fantastic. and hy'r saying up d >> he should have been in good shape, yeah. >> goi go and this has nothing to cf3 he says it's a college volleyball star victoria prince is still who he's with, he just wants to look good, feel good, acknapeo look good, feel good, >> good pyoun anlove more news after this. stay right there.

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time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze... my eyes water. but now zyrtec®, the fastest 24-hour allergy relief, comes in a liquid gel. zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®. here are some stories to watch today on abc news. secretary of state hillary clinton hopes to negotiate key obstacles in today's mideast peace talks. she says the time is right for palestinian and israeli leaders to agree upon a permanent peace plan. president obama delivers his back to school address today in philadelphia. that address will be heard in schools nationwide. and on asian currency markets this morning the dollar hit a 15-year low against the japanese yen. the dollar did retreat after

early trading. and finally from us this half hour, a look inside the pope's library. it was founded way back in the 1450s with just a few hundred latin articles. >> today it is home to some of the world's rarest books, including the oldest known complete bible. here's the bbc's duncan kennedy. >> reporter: in the shadow of st. peter's basilica lies one of the vatican's greatest treasures. not the sistine chapel but its library. it houses nearly 17 centuries of human and christian history. but the building was falling down, its books stored in dusty, uncataloged disarray. now, after three years of renovation this, one of the oldest libraries on earth, has been rejuvenated. >> we are ready to serve people, to open the library, and three years were too many for us to be closed. >> reporter: among the changes are the addition of electronic

readers like this machine. so delicate are the books and manuscripts human hands would damage them. individual books have been cleaned, restored with infinite patience and care. among the items now back in pristine condition, this 14th century bible and this 13th century latin bible. again, with its color as vivid as possible. they reckon there are around 1.6 million books inside this library. and one of the biggest changes they've made is to electronically tag every single one of them. so for the first time they know exactly where they all are. the one thing that hasn't changed is that there's only one person who's able to take these books from this building. and that's the pope himself. some scholars had been upset the library was out of action for three years, but now it's been reopened, the place known simply as the pope's library is back. and with it a page turned in the

ancient world of religious and human scholarship. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in the vatican. >> pretty easy to understand why critics were skeptical of closing this library down for three years, fearful of what could happen, but luckily it went well.